Fresh food has become a familiar promise across the restaurant industry. Newk’s Eatery backs up that promise by giving customers a direct view of what happens in its kitchens. The fast-casual brand has built its philosophy around preparing food in-house and letting guests see that work firsthand. Newk’s makes salad dressings from scratch, grills proteins in its restaurants and uses ovens to bake sandwiches and pizzas when they are ordered. The approach requires more from the kitchen, but it also gives Newk’s a point of difference that the brand has maintained since its founding in 2004.

“It all begins with our open kitchen,” said Chris Cheek, chief development officer. “There really are very few that focus the entire layout of their restaurant around an open kitchen.”

The Kitchen Comes First

Newk’s considers the kitchen before almost anything else when laying out a new restaurant. The team looks at the front door's location and determines how the open kitchen should sit in relation to it. The dining room, bathrooms and other areas are then designed around that starting point. 

“The first thing the guest sees when they walk in is the open kitchen,” Cheek said. “For us, authenticity is having guests see our team members preparing food fresh when it’s ordered. That’s number one.”

Newk’s also does much of its food preparation in its restaurants. Teams grill proteins in-house and use ovens to prepare sandwiches and pizzas when customers order them.

“We do what many others won’t or can’t do,” Cheek said. “Many don’t have a grill or ovens to bake sandwiches and pizzas fresh when they’re ordered. Our equipment and recipes, which we’ve used since 2004, allow us to do things that many others can’t or won’t do in a fast-casual setting.”

Giving Customers Food They Can Feel Good About

Cheek said expectations around freshness have been building across the restaurant industry for the past 10 to 15 years. Younger consumers entering the fast-casual market increasingly want to know more about the food they are eating and how it was prepared.

“There’s a demand for knowing that what you just ate was made fresh,” Cheek said. “We’re not saying all of our food is health food. It’s about taking a more culinary-driven approach rather than a production or assembly-line approach to food.”

That distinction matters more as restaurant brands compete for customers with plenty of choices. Newk’s doesn't have to rely solely on words like “fresh” or “authentic” to describe its food. Its open kitchen lets customers watch the process.

“Made By” Extends Beyond the Food

Newk’s also applies its “Made By” philosophy to how employees interact with customers. Team members run orders to the table rather than calling out a name, using a speaker or requiring customers to return to the counter to pick up their food. 

“Ultimately, it means treating our guest, although in fast casual we don’t have them very long, like they’re a guest in your home,” Cheek said.

Food quality and hospitality also work together to help franchise owners earn repeat business. A well-run Newk’s can give customers both a meal they want to order again and an experience that makes them want to return.

“When it’s done well by our franchise partners, it creates a cravable product,” Cheek said. “But it’s not just about the food. It’s also about how you make people feel while they’re there and when they leave.”

Newk’s model asks operators to take kitchen execution and hospitality seriously. Grilling proteins, making dressings from scratch and preparing food to order require attention inside the restaurant, but those same practices help distinguish the brand from competitors that have moved toward simpler preparation.

Newk’s has followed that model for more than two decades. As customers continue to look for restaurants where freshness means more than a marketing claim, the brand is sticking with a formula built around letting guests see, taste and experience the difference.

“It gives franchise owners a platform to create very loyal guests,” Cheek said. “They want to come to a Newk’s because they’re going to get a very fresh product. It’s going to have a very attractive flavor profile, and we’re going to make them feel good while they’re there.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/newks-eatery.